Evolution Pantomimes has announced this year’s Christmas production will be Jack and the Beanstalk, and are delighted to have enlisted the help of 7ft 7in actor Neil Fingleton, unsurprisingly as the giant.

Evolution, who produced last year’s smash Aladdin, will put on 53 shows over the festive period, combining classic panto gags with special effects, a break-dancing Daisy the Cow, and the UK’s tallest man Fingleton.

Paul Hendy, one half of Evolution Pantomimes, says: "Personally I’d say Jack and the Beanstalk is my favourite pantomime as I think it is the most traditional, it includes all the classic elements, but also has that real sense of adventure."

STANDING at a massive seven foot seven inches, the tallest man in the UK is confident he will fit in among Croydon's towering skyline when he visits the borough at Christmas.

Neil Fingleton is to play the part of – you guessed it – the giant in pantomime Jack And The Beanstalk at the Fairfield Halls.

he colossal 31-year-old has said he is looking forward to visiting Croydon for the month-long show, where he will star alongside Laila Morse, better known as "Big" Mo Harris from EastEnders.

"I am so excited to perform at the Fairfield. It's a great cast and a great company," he told the Advertiser in an appropriately bellowing tone. "Most people have probably never seen anything like me so the part is suited perfectly."

The National Lottery commissioned Communisis to create a world record-breaking giant scratchcard to mark the launch of its latest scratchcard game, which offers the biggest ever jackpot from the lottery firm of £4m.

What did the job entail?

Communisis worked with promotional games specialist and printer IGI Europrint to create the replica scratchcard, which stands at 14m and 6m wide – 500 times bigger than the real thing. The scratchard was displayed at the White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds and unveiled by Adam Catterall of the National Lottery TV adverts and the tallest man in Europe, Neil Fingleton. Fingleton used a cherry picker to reach the scratch panel and reveal the symbols using a giant coin

Giant audiences will be turning out to this year’s pantomime at Fairfield Halls.

The bespoke production of Jack and the Beanstalk has sold more tickets than the Croydon theatre has ever seen for a pantomime at this time of year.

One huge reason for the success may be star Neil Fingleton, who has a tall order in his role as the first real giant the stage-show has ever seen.

Towering over fellow cast-members at a beanstalk-challenging 7ft 7in, Mr Fingleton is the tallest man in Europe.

He said: “Quite often in Jack and the Beanstalk, they use voice-overs or puppets. “People will be taken aback when they see a real actor as the giant, and it will be great for me to interact with the audience.

“I think I will be a bit of a gruff and mean giant, as opposed to a BFG. But hopefully the audience will like me at the end.”